Park City inks lease deals with coffee drive-thru, other businesses

Silver King Coffee Co. on Kearns Boulevard is one of the businesses that recently reached a lease agreement with City Hall that allows the coffee shop to remain on City Hall-owned land for another year. Park City plans to develop an arts and culture district and the leases are designed to keep the current buildings occupied until the municipal government is ready to commence work on the project.Tanzi Propst/Park Record

Park City leaders recently authorized City Hall to extend the leases of a collection of tenants in Bonanza Park, a municipally owned district that is slated for a major redevelopment along a timeline that allows the tenants to remain in the same spaces for another year.

The Park City Council did not spend extensive time on the matter at the recent meeting, but it was an important decision nonetheless as the tenants secured more time to remain in their current locations as they consider their long-term plans. City Hall, meanwhile, ensured an ongoing revenue stream for the next year as the municipal government collects lease payments.

Officials reached agreements with 13 tenants. Some are customer-drawing businesses while others are office-based businesses or not-for-profit organizations. The tenants had previously negotiated terms with the Bonanza Park partnership, the prior owner of the spaces. The Maverick Country Store lease is especially notable since it is one of only two gas stations inside the Park City limits.

City Hall said the leases, combined with a similar agreement with the Kimball Art Center, will generate just less than $500,000 in annual payments to the municipal government. A report submitted to Mayor Andy Beerman and the City Council prior to the recent meeting indicated the funds generated from the lease payments will be earmarked for costs associated with maintenance and management of the property, such as snow removal, repairs and landscaping.

“It was really trying to be as courteous to all our tenants as we could,” Nate Rockwood, Park City director of redevelopment and capital management.

The municipal government acquired the land in early 2018 in a $19.5 million agreement with the Bonanza Park partnership and, through the purchase, took over the leases. City Hall offered the businesses an option to extend the leases until March 30, 2019 with the same terms as those negotiated with the Bonanza Park partnership. The City Council at the recent meeting authorized lease extensions until March 31, 2020.

Each of the tenants desired to remain, City Hall said.

“It was really trying to be as courteous to all our tenants as we could,” said Nate Rockwood, the director of redevelopment and capital management for City Hall and one of the municipal government’s key figures in the discussions about the long-term plans for the land.

“It was really trying to be as courteous to all our tenants as we could,”

Nate Rockwood, Park City director of redevelopment and capital management.

The leases were scheduled to expire at the end of March and the businesses would have reverted to month-to-month tenancies. The one-year leases through March 31, 2020 are partially designed to remove the uncertainty of a month-to-month tenancy. Each of the tenants has the option of ending the lease prior to the expiration date with proper notice to the municipal government. Rockwood said officials prefer the spaces remain leased rather than vacant, something that provides benefits like reducing the threat of vandalism.

The City Council at the recent meeting authorized leases with:

Summit Land Conservancy, 1665 Bonanza Drive

Youth Sports Alliance, 1665 Bonanza Drive

Mountain Trails Foundation, 1665 Bonanza Drive

Byer Excavation, Inc., 1685 Bonanza Drive

Integrated Planning & Design, LLC, 1685 Bonanza Drive

Sletta Construction, 1685 Bonanza Drive

Panic Button Media, 1685 Bonanza Drive

Land Solutions Planning, 1685 Bonanza Drive

Maverick Country Store, 1635 Bonanza Drive

Anaya’s Market, 1490 Munchkin Drive

Soul Poles, LLC, 1490 Munchkin Drive

Topmark Industries, 1490 Munchkin Drive

Silver King Coffee Co., 1409 Kearns Blvd.

The leases are advantageous to City Hall since they are linked to the municipal government’s redevelopment timeline. City Hall plans to demolish the existing buildings and then develop an arts and culture district that will stretch outward from the intersection of Kearns Boulevard and Bonanza Drive. The Kimball Art Center and the Sundance Institute’s Utah headquarters are envisioned as the anchors of the district.

City Hall in coming months will engage the Park City Planning Commission with blueprints for the district. The panel will eventually cast a vote on the redevelopment blueprints. Officials want to start the project in the spring, projecting the preparation of the land will start on March 31, 2020.

One of the businesses that secured a lease extension at the recent meeting, Silver King Coffee Co., is pleased with the additional year to prepare to move. Kristie Buehner, who owns the drive-thru coffee shop with her husband, said in an interview the year provides an opportunity to attempt to find another location inside the Park City limits. She acknowledged a location for a drive-thru business like Silver King Coffee Co. requires substantial space.

“With the growth in Park City, it’s been very difficult for us to find a spot that would work,” Buehner said, adding, “We’re grateful for a little bit more time.”